Embalmer&#39;s hand holder



July 17, 1962 HOLT 3,044,144

EMBALMERS HAND HOLDER Filed Feb. 1, 1960 HOWARD RAN DOLPH HOLT 3 RTroRNF3 INVENTOR;

Unite This invention relates to improvements in embalmers hand holdingdevices.

At death and after rigor mortis, all body parts, muscles and othertissues assume a partly relaxed state or position. This condition,however, is not natural in appearance.

. The relatives of a deceasedperson desire the embalmer to prepare thecorpse to have as natural an appearance as possible for sentimentalreasons. Accordingly, it is the aim and desire of an embalmer to restoreand maintain the position of the various parts of the body of thedeceased to as natural a semblance as possible to please the members ofthe family of the deceased person.

One of the problems which embalmers encounter in preparing a body forburial is the arrangement of the hands which tend to fly apart andassume unnatural or grotesque positions. Also, even after the embalmingprocess has 'been completed and the hands are clasped across the body ofthe deceased person with the elbows braced against the casket sides,slipping occurs.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide asimple and inexpensive device for use by embalmers on corpses by meansof which the hands of a deceased person may be clasped one over theother and firmly held in such position to assume a substantially normallife-like appearance during and subsequent to the embalming operation.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which iscontractile and adapted to apply a steady pressure sufiicient to holdthe superposed hands of a corpse in a firmly clasped position across thefront of the body while at the same time applying pressure in an amountand in a manner so as to minimize distortion of the tissues.

Another object is to provide a device of this character of simpleunitary construction which is easy to apply and will be capable ofuniversal use in that it will accommodate various differences in sizesand shape and other properties of the fingers and thumbs of deceasedpersons.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a corpse handholding device which will be concealed from public view during use onthe corpse in a casket and thus is not removed from the deceased body atany time, even at interment.

Further objects and advantages are set forth in the followingspecification which describes a preferred form of the device asillustrated by the accompanying drawing:

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view showing the novel device of this inventionapplied to a hand;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial showing of the corpse hand holding device, asviewed from the under side, in position on the clasped hands of thecorpse after it has been embalmed;

FIG. 3 is a pictorial view of the FIG. 1 form of corpse hand holdingdevice of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the corpse hand holding device shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section in elevation taken on the line 5-5 of FIG.4; and

rates .atent ice resilient material, such as, for example, elasticrubber.

The main body 12 of the device is of generally tubular thumbs to be heldtherein.

In the use of the device, the arms of the deceased person are foldedacross the front of the body with the hands placed in a natural claspedposition (not shown). Either the right or the left hand may rest on theother, as desired. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hand portion 12 of thedevice 10 is expanded and placed around the proximal position of thefirst phalanx of the thumb 16 and the first phalanx of the forefinger 17of the right hand 18 with the projecting tab portion 14 of the deviceextended under and toward the palm of the hand 18'. The fingers of theleft hand 19 are clasped over the fingers of the right hand 18 with theleft thumb 20 inserted between the band 12 and the right hand 18 andthrough the opening 15 in the tab portion 14 of the hand holding device10 which then is allowed to contract thus holding both hands securely inthis desired arranged position (see FIG. 2).

If the right hand is tobe placed in the upper position the foregoingdescribed arrangement is reversed, in which case the band portion 12 ofthe device 10 is expanded and placed around the proximal position of thefirst phalanx of the thumb 20 and forefinger 21 of the left hand 19 withthe projecting tab portion 14 extended under and toward the palm of thathand. The fingers of the right hand 18 are clasped over the fingers ofthe left hand 19 with the right thumb 16 inserted between the band 12and the left hand 19 and through the opening 15 in the tab portion 14 ofthe hand holding device 10 which'then is allowed to contract thusholding both hands securely in this desired arranged position.

The inside surface of the band or body portion 12 may be either smooth,or suitably roughened, as desired, in order to increase its grippingqualities.

Also, it is obvious that the band member 12 and the tab portion 14 mayconstitute separate pieces of resilient material which are adhesivelyjoined together, as indicated at 25, and such modified form of thedevice 10 is considered to come within the scope of the instantinvention, see FIG. 6. I

It thus will be apparent that by means of this novel one-piece, simpleand inexpensive device, with its resilient properties, the hands 18 and19 will be held indefinitely in FIG. 6 shows a modified form of theinvention in which a relaxed clasped position, and that, as shown inFIG. 2, the device 10 is entirely concealed at all times from publicview by virtue of its disposition on the underside of the clasped handsand therefore does not require removal from the body at any time.

Since it is obvious that many other changes and modifications of theabove-described details can be made without departing from the natureand spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not to be limited to the above-described details except as set forthin the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An embalmers hand holder device to support the hands of a corpse inclasped position across the front of the body comprising a resilientband member for encirclement of the thumb and forefinger of one hand 'ofthe corpse, and a resilient projecting tab portion integral therewithand extending well beyond and to one side of said band member, said tabportion having a central opening therein which is of a size'such as toaccommodate therethrough, encircle, and hold firmly the extended thumbof the superposed hand following its projection from between the thumband forefinger to be resiliently held by said band member.

2. An embalmers hand holder device as claimed in claim 1 in which theresilient material is elastic rubber.

3. An embalmers hand holding device of unitary construction adapted tosupp otrtthe superposed hands of a corpse in natural clasped position ofrepose across the front of the body, comprisinga resilient tubular bodyportion of narrow width and a resilient projecting tab portion integralwith one side wall of said body portion and extending well beyond thesame, said tab portion being provided with a central opening smallerthan the size of a thumb joint, said tubular body portion forming a bandwhich is susceptible to enlargement and contraction for encirclingdisposition around the thumb and forefinger of one hand of the corpse,and said resilient tab portion being susceptible to enlargement andcontraction for insertion of the thumb of the other hand through saidcentral opening in said tab portion of the hand holding device followingprojection of the inserted thumb from between the first thumb andforefinger to be resiliently held by said tubular band, said device oncontraction after placement exerting a firm and steady pressure on theengaged finger and thumb parts of the superposed hands to hold them inthe desired arranged position.

Wheat Oct. 12, 1858 I Keough Oct. 15, 1957

